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WR Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons

HT: 6-1, WT: 201, Born: 11-2-1981, College: UAB, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 27

2008 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 28th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: D McNabb (64), F Taylor (65), Roddy White (66), C Cooley (67), S Young (68)
Position: H Ward (61-WR21), L Evans (63-WR22), Roddy White (66 - WR23), M Harrison (71-WR24), C Chambers (72-WR25)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

 Click here to go to the Roddy White spotlight, our staff's most detailed analysis.

 Click here to go to the Roddy White faceoff, our staff's look at the pros and cons.

Best Case

Roddy White rose above the chaos at the QB position during 2007 and posted a break out season - over twice as many passes came his way last year compared with his first two seasons in the league. White accounted for a third of the team's receiving TDs last year and has a firm grip on the top spot in the WR stable. Hopefully, one of the Atlanta QBs will swiftly claim the top job during training camp and provide White plenty of time to get in rhythm with the team's signal caller. As the entrenched No. 1 WR, White should see lots of opportunities to catch the ball every game. He should match or surpass last year's numbers if everything goes well for the overhauled Falcons during training camp.

Worst Case

Rookie Matt Ryan could get thrown to the wolves and struggle mightily from day one of the regular season, leaving White to chase lots of poorly thrown balls during 2008. If the Falcons engage in another quarterback carousel during 2008, White's numbers could decline as the offense sputters and stalls. In this scenario, White would drop out of the top tiers of fantasy wide receivers.

Outlook

While there is uncertainty surrounding the QB position entering training camp, we know that White is the stud receiver on the team. He should see plenty of footballs this year and end up going over 1000 yards receiving. White should be a solid WR2 in most league formats regardless of who is throwing him the football this year.

Relevant Articles

Why he is undervalued

Maurile Tremblay - White established himself as the Falcons' clear #1 WR last season, and was particularly dominant through the stretch run. In the final five weeks of the season, White caught 37 passes for 532 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was the #14 fantasy WR last season (#8 during the last five weeks); he is in an offense that should improve in 2008; but he is being drafted as the 24th WR off the board. That's value.

Mark Wimer - White is the unchallenged #1 in Atlanta, and enjoyed a breakout season despite chaos at the QB position last year. He should be very productive again this year, landing in the middle teens at his position - he's slotted for the same role in Mike Mularkey's offense in which Hines Ward routinely caught more than 100 balls per season. He's worth way more than WR 23 - I think he'll be a top-10 WR fantasy WR this year, even if he's saddled with rookie QB Matt Ryan early on in the year.

Why he is overvalued

Mike Brown - The Falcons have got protection issues, a rookie quarterback, and lost two of its primary offensive weapons in Alge Crumpler and Warrick Dunn. Let's just say I don't expect the Falcons to be amongst the league's elite, and I don't think any of their skill position guys will live up to their ADP.

Jeff Pasquino - White did post some nice numbers in 2007, but once again the Falcons have a number of questions on offense. Who will be the starting QB this season, Chris Redman or rookie Matt Ryan? Can the addition of Michael Turner bulk up the ground game enough to balance the offense and get receivers open? Who will start opposite of White, and who will be the TE? Defenses will key on White who won't surprise defenses this season.

2008 Schedule

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - White was Joey Harrington's most frequently targeted wide receiver. White was the target on a second down for a five yard gain just short of a first down. On the very next play, Harrington was flushed out of the pocket and found White for a nine yard play. In the second quarter, he made a short catch near the sideline, was hit by Chad Greenway, and fumbled the ball out of bounds. In the third quarter, Roddy White was the target of a rare Harrington deep ball, but again Harrington was unable to get him the ball. White's last target was a short comeback route for seven yards. White also had a false start penalty.

Week 2 - White seemed to have a good rapport with Harrington, and turned several intermediate timing routes into good gains after the catch. He displayed good route-running ability and good speed, including one deep pass where his defender was called for pass interference, preventing him from catching the ball. White was also overthrown on two other passes.

Week 3 - White had a career day, catching seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came on a short pass to the left. White broke a tackle at the 50 yard line and raced the rest of the way for the touchdown. Of his seven passes, White picked up four first downs. White received just one red zone target but the pass was incomplete.

Week 4 - White was used in a variety of ways, running short slants as well as longer routes. He ran well after the catch, and was targeted in the red zone, with his defender making a good play to deflect the ball at the last minute. White also had a red zone reception that he took inside the five yard line called back due to an offensive penalty.

Week 5 - White led the team in targets, but wasn't able to do much with his attempts. White was targeted on a slant pattern in the red zone in which he took his eye off the ball and pulled up to avoid a big hit from the safety. White was the intended target on Byron Leftwich's interception.

Week 6 - White came into this game as the Falcons' leading receiver and got off to a good start catching passes for nine and ten yards, both for first downs, on the first couple plays of the game. He did drop a ball he should have had on that initial drive as Atlanta neared the red zone. White finished the half as the Falcons leading receiver, catching three balls for 26 yards.

White made a big play early in the second half to jump start a stagnant Falcon's offense momentarily. He ran a crossing route in man to man coverage and broke free for a 38 yard completion. But that would be White's last catch of the game as the Giants did a good job of shutting him down in the second half.

Week 7 - White caught every pass intended for him, and nearly caught a second touchdown, just barely stepping on the sideline on what would have been a 39 yard touchdown from Joey Harrington late in the game. White's touchdown came on a nine yard slant route over the middle where Byron Leftwich threw a sharp pass into a tight spot.

Week 9 - White kept on getting the ball thrown to him. But Harrington saw him and kind of chucked it somewhat in his direction on most attempts. The announcers of the game kept on talking about how explosive he could be, but neglected to add to it that he has to have the ball first. All three of his catches were for first downs, and he looked particularly good on a third and long catch over the middle, in which he had to fight for the extra yard, but got the first down.

Week 10 - White caught six passes for 57 yards. He had a career high 11 targets in the game. White picked up three first downs but did not see any red zone opportunities.

Week 11 - White was targeted eight times, finishing with four receptions for 28 yards. White, who has struggled with drops all year long, continued to have problems and had at least two more balls thrown his way that he should have come down with. He also fumbled the ball away on one of his receptions, but after an unusual sequence of events, the Falcons were able to get the ball back from the Buccaneers after a fumble of their own on the run back.

Week 12 - White was targeted early and often by Joey Harrington. He caught a 48 yard touchdown pass from Harrington on the second Atlanta drive of the night as he beat the safety on the outside. White had 104 yards on the day, while the next highest receiving yard total for the Falcons was 14 yards by Alge Crumpler.

Week 13 - White had an extraordinary amount of looks from both quarterbacks. He fumbled the ball early in the game, but made up for it later by scoring on a catch from Redman in the fourth. Most of his catches were in the 15-20 yard range.

Week 14 - White had a solid night. He caught a touchdown and three passes for 75 yards. One of the passes he caught went to the one yard line as time expired in the first half. He was hit hard on slants when Redman led him right into defenders.

Week 15 - White got four looks from his quarterback, but managed just one reception for four yards.

Week 16 - White was the team's leading receiver hauling in 12 catches for 141 yards, but with no scores. His longest catch was for 26 yards.

Week 17 - White remains a low percentage (five receptions for nine targets) go to receiver, but when he does catch the ball he makes things happen.